Sitting up, I stretch as my blanket falls off my torso. Sunlight streams in through the window, granting me light in this early morning. After stretching my arms, I climb off my bed and walk over to my dresser, pulling out a set of clothes and dressing. We are not going on a hunt this morning, though I still pull on a pair of durable pants, then a sleeveless and a vest, then fix on my belt with its many pouches.

No, today is market day, and even with the Swarm about, we're still going to it. Cam and I may hunt in the afternoon, depending on how things go with the other Hunters, but that's to be determined later.

As I sit on my bed and tug on my boots, I pray to the powers that be that the traveling Hunters agree to help us with the end of the Swarm and the cleanup after. Cam and I won't admit it to Liam, but we are exhausted. We are beyond exhausted.

Liam has taken a few breaks from hunting, because of how difficult it is to keep up such heavy hunting every day for a ten-year-old. He doesn't know how much of a toll it is even on experienced adventurers like Cam and me. We'd like to keep it that way, too, because of how much Liam looks up to us.

After my near-death, we'd like to keep up the appearance that even the tough stuff doesn't faze us too much. The incident with the snake venom worried him for a bit, but because Cam and I acted like it was no big deal, Liam accepted that it was no big deal.

If he saw our exhaustion, though, it might start to crush him again.

Thankfully, this Swarm is nearly over, so even if the other Hunters refuse to help us, in two or three weeks, we should be back to normal. Just in time for an extended trip, but I feel confident that Liam will be able to handle Cam and me setting out for a few days, especially now that he's seen that we're strong, capable, and not easily exhausted.

I've spoken with a couple of people to make sure he's looked after while we're gone, too, for my own peace of mind. He won't have to stay with someone else, but there will be someone here each night just to check on him.

But before I even bother talking to the Hunters to find out what's going on the next two or three weeks, I have other stuff to do. So I grab the pouch of coins I counted out last night for market, fix it to my belt, then head downstairs. Liam is reading a book about the various types of monsters, and gives me a brief nod before absorbing himself back into the book.

I told him last night that Cam and I will take him out for something a little more than hares and squirrels after things calm down, so I'm guessing he's trying to look at the types of monsters to see what he wants to be his first big hunt. More specifically, I think he's looking for something that he can have Greta turn the hide of into a decent winter jacket for him.

To Liam, that's more important than killing something big just for show. I feel a little proud at that, knowing it's a sign I've raised him right these last few years.

As he does that, I start on making breakfast for us. It's a simple breakfast for fruits, berries, cheese, and bread, then I send Liam to get changed and ready for the day, since he's still in his sleepwear from last night.

Once the two of us are ready for the day, Liam with his own pouch of coins on his hip, we pull on baskets and walk to the market. The first thing Liam buys is a pair of sweet rolls from Wendy's stall, and he hands one to me.

"Thank you," I tell him as I bite into the still-warm roll.

"You're welcome," he tells me.

We eat the sweet rolls as we examine the various goods set out. I manage to learn there are four merchant groups this time, another decent amount. It's rare for us to have two large groups in a row especially since this one has two groups of merchants that are more than just the merchant and one or two employees. It seems we have two actual groups of merchants among the four here today, for a total of nine merchants present. One group of three and one of four.

We don't find anything we need at the stalls run by townsfolk, nor anything we want, so we move on to the merchants. With so many of them, and how long it took us to reach them, it doesn't take us long to be able to look at their wares.

Liam and I buy dried herbs and berries, candied fruits, and I purchase two bottles of wine, as usual. I doubt it will match up to the taste of the Lucielis wine, but it will still be enjoyable. As I'm buying a few more food stuffs that lasted the journey here, Liam finds a nice, soft blue scarf. While it's a bit early for scarves again, he still buys it anyway because it's quality. One never knows if they'll see a similar good again.

"Hello, Cam," I say as Cam approaches us just as we're finishing up.

"Good morning, Rex," Cam greets me, then dips his head to Liam. "Good morning, Liam."

"Good morning, Cam!" Liam greets him, then holds up the scarf. "Look!"

"It's very nice," Cam tells him. "Would you mind taking Rex's basket home? We have some business to attend to."

He must be referring to talking with the Hunters who came with the merchants. The Elder Hunter must have sent for him, rather than waiting for us to come after lunch.

"Sure!" Liam says.

I pull off my basket and hand it to him, then Liam takes off.

"Let's go," I tell Cam.

Cam nods, then the two of us walk to the Elder Hunter's shop. Inside are four teams of Hunters, including two all-male teams, one all-female team, and one team with three males and two females. Combining that with the Elder Hunter and now Cam and myself, it's rather full in here.

Why are there so many Hunters with these merchants? I've seen a larger group that only traveled with three teams of Hunters.

The leader from each team sits on either side of the table, while Cam and I sit across from the Elder Hunter, then make our introductions.

"I'm Garret," one of the leaders introduces himself.

"I'm Jacob," another introduces himself.

"I'm Colin," the leader of the mixed team introduces himself.

"I'm Jada," the final leader introduces herself.

"I'm Rex," I introduce myself. "And this is Cam. We're two of the town's three local Hunters."

"Three?" Garret asks. "I thought we were discussing this with all of the Hunters?"

"Liam just turned ten a month ago," I shake my head. "He hasn't been informed of what's going on, as we don't want him to worry too much."

"Do you mean the Swarm?" Colin asks.

"No, he's aware of it," I shake my head again. "He's been helping us keep the populations low in the fields and hills, and has reached Level 6 due to the Swarm. What we want to discuss is something more serious."

I turn my attention to the Elder Hunter.

"How much have you told them?" I ask.

"Only that the local Hunters have a request," she answers. "Nothing further, as it is your place to tell, Rex."

"Okay," I say, then look at each team leader and team in turn, before simply looking between all of the leaders. "More than a month ago, the Gate issued a warning to us. There is the potential for a monster to reach Star-Level in the area."

"That's nothing to do with us," Garret says.

"No, it's not," I say. "Cam and I investigated it, and found nothing, so if it's true, it's far beyond our range. Recent events, however, have given us a clue as to where it might be, if the Gate has not gone senile or mistaken something for something stronger."

"I still don't see what that has to do with us," Garret says. "We're escort Hunters, we don't handle things like that."

"Would you let the boy speak?" Jacob snaps. "The more you interrupt him, the longer it will take for him to finish explaining and actually tell us."

Garret shoots him a glare, and I clear my throat, drawing attention back to me.

"Cam and I," I continue. "Wish to investigate the area we believe it may be forming in to confirm whether or not it is. The Swarm has caused a slight issue for us, however. There are only three of us here, and only two who can handle the stronger or more dangerous monsters. It will take us two weeks or so to finish cleaning up the monsters to return things back down to normal."

"You want," Jada says. "To know if we will stay behind to help you with this, to allow you to investigate it sooner."

"Yes," I confirm, giving a slight nod. "We predict the last day of the Swarm is three days from now. If all four of your teams help, we should be able to finish cleaning things up in two days, at the most."

Garret sighs.

"This is a rare opportunity," he says. "But the merchant I am traveling with will not want to delay leaving."

He gives the Elder Hunter a look as I process that. He's not just an escort Hunter, but one who is traveling with a single merchant. My guess is the merchant hired him some time ago, and his team continues to travel as his personal protection, rather than as hired protection for a specific journey.

"Even with the bribe every Elder Hunter keeps hidden away."

"You have come across it before," she says with a smile.

"Yes," Garret confirms. "He is impatient, and refuses to stay anywhere longer than he should. He says that even a day's delay loses him a large sum of money. I first discovered the bribes seven years ago, when the local Hunters in another small town wanted my team to help them deal with a Tier Six. He began to leave without me, saying he would just brave the journey, so I left to ensure he survived."

"I see," she says. "And what of the rest of you?"

"The group I am with," Jada says. "Will not mind remaining behind, even without the bribe. They will see it as an opportunity to potentially receive some unique or rare resources."

She's traveling with one of the groups of merchants, then, likely as a personal escort for them. That would make sense, though, if it's a group of merchants traveling together.

"The other merchants," Jacob says. "Would no doubt need the bribe to stay behind, but we can convince them."

"We would be willing to stay as well," Colin tells me. "While we won't investigate the potential danger, we can help you clean up the area from the Swarm."

"Thank you," I say.

"You're welcome," he responds.

"Still, though," Jada frowns. "A potential Star-Level? From before the Swarm? It would be weird for one to form outside of your range."

"Stranger things have happened," Colin says.

"Indeed, they have," she nods. "Where do you believe it to be forming?"

"In them mountains," I answer. "Once monsters are reduced enough around here, Cam and I are planning on taking a multi-day trek to investigate the mountain. The entire trip shouldn't take us more than two weeks, but we'd feel a lot more comfortable leaving this town for that after reducing the populations of the monsters. With how high it is right now, we're a bit nervous that when we return, we might have a few monsters that would really push us. We can handle one Tier Six at a time, but if two are in an area, we'd lose for sure."

"You can handle Tier Sixes?" Garret asks in surprise. "What Level are you?"

"I'm Level 20, and Cam is Level 17," I answer.

"You're too low to be able to hurt one," Jada says. "Not normally. Are you manifested?"

"Yes," I answer. "A little before the Swarm, we were attacked by a Tier Six. I manifested in time to save myself and escape, and a passing team of Soul Strikers arrived a few days later and killed it."

"A passing team of Soul Strikers?" Jacob asks in confusion. "Rex, this town is beyond the sticks. Why would a team of Soul Strikers be 'passing'?"

"My older brother is in it," I clarify. "They were stopping by to see how Cam and I were doing."

"Who's your older brother?" Jacob asks.

"Is it Kain?" Jada asks, and I find myself giving her an incredulous look.

"That was a fast guess," Cam mutters.

"You two have some similarities," Jada says. "The group my team is traveling with have passed them by a few times, and we met his team on the way to meet up with the others. Does he know you are manifested?"

"We told his team when they arrive," I nod. "It explained how I was able to escape a Tier Six. Now, we use my sacred weapon to handle the Tier Sixes we come across during this Swarm. I'm grateful for that, or we'd be in a worse situation than we are."

"Indeed," she nods. "I can see it in your eyes, Rex. And in Cam's, too. You are exhausted from this Swarm. Any Swarm lasting more than two weeks would be a bit much for Hunters, even experienced ones, when dealing with it with as few as you have here."

"You should rest," Colin tells us. "Let us deal with the rest of the Swarm, and what remains of it after. You two look as if you could use it, and you'll need your strength and stamina for your scouting mission."

By their tone and body language, I can tell they are not suggesting that in the hopes of stealing higher kills from us. They genuinely want us to rest, because they can tell how hard the Swarm has been for Cam and me.

I look at Cam, and he gives me a slight nod, then I turn my attention back to Jada, Colin, and Jacob, since they and their teams are the ones who will be helping us.

"Thank you," I tell them. "Would you like to know the lay of the land, and what types of monsters are found where?"

"If you would," Jacob says.

"Allow me to retrieve my map," the Elder Hunter says.

"Since we aren't needed," Garret rises. "We'll head to the guest room."

He and his team follow the Elder Hunter to the back, and the rest of us are silent until the Elder Hunter returns with a map of the region, which she sets on the table, moving her crystal orb aside. Cam and I spend the next half-hour telling the Hunters about the various types of monsters in our region and where we find them. I show them our normal hunting range and the border of the Swarm, which extends roughly two miles past it.

After we finish that, we discuss our plans for the scouting mission. Cam and I are planning on moving as stealthily as possible. With monsters about at night, we'll have to find good spots to make camp and put up wards, which the Elder Hunter says she has for us already. They're pouches filled with something that emits something which can't be smelled, but still drives monsters away.

That intrigues me, but I know that asking how they're made or what they are won't do anything."

"They only last for ten hours, once activated," the Elder Hunter tells me. "Enough time for you to set up camp, sleep, and then break down camp. I'll give you a two-week supply before you set off."

"Thank you," I tell her.

"Let us pray to the powers that be," Jada says. "That what you find is nothing concerning, and the Gate has been mistaken. It won't be the first time a Gate mistook something for another."

"Oh, yes," the Elder Hunter chuckles. "I remember one time in my youth when we were sent out because a Gate had given an ominous warning, and the local Hunters discovered signs of something powerful. This was shortly after I became a Soul Striker. It turned out to not be a Star-Level monster."

"What was it?" Jacob asks.

"Nothing!" She laughs. "There had been a rockslide that cut off an area, and some of the monsters which lived in that area but weren't there when it occurred couldn't find a way to get past it back home, so they settled down in a new area!"

"So keep an eye out for things like that, too," I say.

"Yes," the Elder Hunter nods. "But do keep your mind open to the possibility of the Gate being correct. If it is, we need to know as soon as possible."

"We will," I tell her. "But I'm praying to the powers that be it's wrong. Anyway, thanks for the help and the advice, everyone. Cam and I should be heading back now. It really has been a long month for us."

"Enjoy your rest," Jada tells me. "We'll handle the rest of the Swarm for you."

Cam and I stand, then leave and make our way to our homes, splitting at the usual fork. When I arrive home, I find no sign of Liam downstairs or out back, which I find strange. The food is put away, though.

He's probably gone to the river and will be back by dinner, so I head up to my room and pull one of the books off my shelf in here. Liam doesn't enter my room, except if he thinks I have something I'm hiding from him like a surprise, so I store some of the more sensitive things in here. Since Liam doesn't look in the obvious places – like my shelves – I can put stuff on them and he'll ignore them entirely.

Moving to my bed, I sit down and open the book, reading. It's a book on preparing for the possibility of a Star-Level monster taking over the region one lives in. Even Cam doesn't know I have it, I obtained it in secret while we were in the city.

As a Hunter, I should always be prepared for things. I bought it for the worst-case scenario, praying to the powers that be that I'll never need to use it. Now, however, I might. After looking through it for awhile, I realize it's time to start dinner, so I put the book away and start to head downstairs.

Passing by Liam's room, I hear the faint sound of sniffling. He's here? Why is he crying? Raising a hand, I knock on his door. He doesn't respond, but the sniffling stops.

"Liam?" I ask. "Are you okay?"

Did someone bully him?

Liam doesn't respond to my question.

"Liam, I'm coming in," I tell him, then open his door.

Ignoring the slight mess of his room, I walk to his bed, where he's curled up and concealed by his thick blanket. I pull it back and find him still wearing his boots. If he was calm enough to put things away, he would have taken off his boots.

He must have left again after he put things away.

His face is red, his eyes are puffy, and there's a wet spot on his sheet where his head it, from the tears streaming out of his eyes.

"Liam, what's wrong?" I sit beside him.

He just sniffles harder, his chest seizing as he attempts not to burst into tear. I grab his arm and pull him up, and it doesn't take more than that for him to wrap his arms around me and start sobbing, his head pressed against my chest.

"Liam, what's wrong?" I ask again after a few minutes of him sobbing.

"I-I-I wanted to be part of it," he tells me. "So I-I went to the Elder Hunter's shop, and you-you were saying that we might get attacked by a Star-Level, and-and-and-if it comes, it's going to kill us all, and-"

Liam breaks down, his grip loosening on me. He's scared of losing Cam and me, his new family. He's scared of losing his friends, and his home. Finding out that we might be attacked by something much too powerful for us has him terrified now.

"Liam," I shift my body, then wrap my arms around him in a hug, holding him tight. "It's okay. Cam and I are going to investigate, and then we'll send for the appropriate party to take care of it, okay? Nothing bad is going to happen."

"But what if it does?" He cries out. "What if it's a Star-Level monster and it spots you two and it decides to have you for a snack? Wh-wh-what if-"

"Liam," I interrupt him, keeping my voice soft and gentle. "It's going to be okay, I promise. I wasn't going to tell you because I knew you'd freak out, okay? If Cam and I investigate, and it turns out to just be, say, a sinkhole driving stronger monsters towards us, or a rockslide, and no threat of a Star-Level monster, then you'll feel very silly, won't you?"

"But what if it is?" He sniffles. "Rex, what if it's a Star-Level monster, and it comes after us, and then it kills us all? What if it decides to save us for snacks? What if-"

"Liam," I tell him. "There's nothing to worry about. At the most, it would be a Single-Star monster. Remember Kain, our big brother?"

"Yeah?" He sniffles.

"He taught me a special spell," I tell him. "Which is guaranteed to kill a Single-Star monster, even for a mere Level 20 like me."

"Really?" He asks.

"Yes," I rub his back, hoping to calm him down. "Really, Liam. So don't worry. No matter what happens, I'll protect the town."

Even if it costs me my life. Cam is prepared to take in Liam, should I be forced to use that spell. He's prepared to move in here and continue raising and training Liam. If we tell Liam about this beforehand, though, it will be even more devastating to him. However, if he finds out after I use the spell, he'll handle it better. Without any time to worry himself over losing me, he'll adjust quickly, accept and understand the reason behind the spell, and once he's older, accept why we never told him.

"Alright?" I ask. "Everything is going to be okay, Liam. I promise."

"Okay," he sniffles.

"Now," I release him and lift his head up so I can look him in the eyes. "Dry your tears, Liam, and let's go make dinner."

"You're making it," he uses his sleeve to dry his face. "I'll just burn it all."

"Yes, you will!" I laugh.